Admissibilidade da execução da entidade empregadora em prestação de facto: a reintegração do trabalhador

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the effectiveness of judicial decisions regarding the reinstatement of unlawfully dismissed workers and analyses the practical challenges involved in its coercive enforcement within the Mozambican labour law context. Reinstatement is recognised as the primary remedy for illegal dismissal, representing a non-substitutable obligation aimed at restoring the employment relationship from the date of contract termination. However, the practical implementation of this right faces significant obstacles, including unjustified employer refusal to reinstate the worker, automatic substitution of reinstatement by compensation, and alleged material impossibility due to job extinction or company restructuring. Furthermore, the lack of clear legal provisions regarding moral or relational impossibility of reinstatement, combined with procedural delays and insufficient effective coercive mechanisms, hinders the practical realisation of this right. At the same time, reinstatement presents a legal tension between private autonomy expressed in contractual freedom and necessary judicial intervention to protect the worker. Although it restricts the employer’s freedom, reinstatement is justified by the need to uphold res judicata authority and legal certainty in labour relations. It is concluded that for reinstatement to be effectively enforced and protect workers’ rights, it is essential to strengthen the legal and institutional instruments that ensure coercive execution, as well as adopt a rigorous and balanced interpretation that considers the specificities of the Mozambican context.